Page 47 of The Matchmaker and the Marine

He dropped his voice. “Are you worried what they’re going to find when they unwrap your paper towel masterpiece?”

“No.” She took his elbow. “I’ve got nothing better to do until you’re stitched up, so why not keep you company?”

He looked relieved. “Thanks, Mel.”

Chapter 18

Melinda held back her emotions as she sat in the exam room with Adam. He was waiting patiently to be seen by the emergency room doctor. She had always hated hospitals. Inwardly she groaned. Well, that was a lie, it was only in recent years that she’d begun to hate them. The building, the antiseptic smells and the sounds. The page system was enough to drive anyone crazy.

Adam was perched on the edge of the exam table and Mel was in the chair next to him. He bent toward her. “How are you doing?”

Her hands were clammy. She prayed her face wasn’t completely devoid of color. “Oh, fine,” she said with false bravado.

If only she could halt the flood of memories. That would help. Instead she said, “How is your pain?” Carefully enunciating each word to give her something to focus on.

“I’m not going to kid you, it hurts like a son of a…”

She raised an eyebrow.

He flashed a small, apologetic smile at her. “Sorry. It isn’t the worse pain I’ve had, but still…”

She cut him off to get his mind off the injury and joked, “It’s not like you’re giving birth or dealing with a kidney stone.”

“One I’ll never experience and the other I hope never to.”

The curtain was drawn back and a tall, older man entered the cubicle holding a chart in his hand. “Mr. Bell? I’m the on-call doctor.” He was all business as he reviewed the details in Adam’s chart.

“Yes. Excuse me for not shaking your hand.” Adam’s attempt at a joke fell on deaf ears.

The doctor glanced at Melinda. “Are you Mrs. Bell?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Melinda saw Adam’s eyes open wide in surprise. “No, I’m his friend.” Seeing the doctor holding the chart made her flash back to the last time she was in an ER.

The doctor began to unwrap the towel. Melinda felt as if a band was tightening around her chest and her head began to spin. She stood up from the stool and glanced at Adam. “I’m going to wait outside.” She thought she heard Adam call her name before the darkness claimed her.

The irritating smell of ammonia wafted into her senses and someone was helping her sit up.

“Ms. Phillips, can you hear me? I’m Wayne, a nurse. Let me help you up.”

She coughed and pushed herself to a full sitting position. “What happened?”

Adam chuckled. “You took one look at my hand and it was good night Irene for you.”

She struggled to stand, embarrassed she had caused such a fuss. Wayne held her arm. “Go slowly. If you start to feel faint again, let me know.”

She felt shaky and lightheaded. “All right.”

The nurse helped her to a chair next to the exam table and Melinda looked at Adam. “I’m sorry.” She grimaced.

“Don’t we make a great pair?” He winced as the doctor turned his hand over and examined it.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“For only a few seconds. Around here they seem to take exception to people passing out.” Adam gave her a cock-eyed grin. She knew he was trying to make her feel better.

“Here, have a sip, slowly.” Wayne handed Melinda a small plastic cup filled to the rim with what she hoped was cool water.

She took a tentative drink and looked into the kindly face of a very young-looking nurse. “Thank you.” She took another sip and was beginning to feel a bit better. “I’m sure you don’t often need to scoop women up from the floor.”

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